Three who could make, break jobs bill

After a year of blaming them for gridlock, Harry Reid suddenly has to make nice with Republicans to show he can manage the Senate and pass a jobs bill.

So Reid is trying to figure out what it takes to land the two GOP votes he desperately needs. He’s learned that Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe could be lured by more small-business tax breaks. He’s heard about Maine Sen. Susan Collins and the timber tax credit she’s pitching. And Reid talks as if he’s got Massachusetts rookie Sen. Scott Brown on speed dial.

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Reid’s office wouldn’t say Sunday whether Democrats have the 60 votes needed for a procedural vote set for Monday evening, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also isn’t sure his side has the votes to totally block the jobs bill. McConnell hinted Sunday that some Republicans might back the procedural vote.

Assuming he can keep all the Democrats in line, here’s a look at three Republicans who could make or break the jobs bill.

Sen. Olympia Snowe

Snowe wants to extend tax breaks on loans and redirect stimulus money for small businesses.

Reid’s bill allows companies with relatively few employees to immediately write off up to $250,000 in new equipment purchases — instead of depreciating them over time — for one year. Snowe told Reid last week that this provision should be extended for at least five years.

“As small businesses develop long-term plans, they must know with certainty that critical facets of the tax law that they rely on will not expire,” she said.

Snowe also wants to ease credit terms so it’s easier for smaller firms to get capital. To do so, she’s pushing for Reid to consider redirecting unspent money from the stimulus to small-business initiatives.

“She hasn’t made any decisions yet,” her communications director, John Gentzel, said Friday. “Those are two critical things.”

Sen. Susan Collins

Collins is going parochial with her pitch, asking for six tax provisions to be added — several of which would specifically help Maine.

One Maine special is an “adjusted tax rate on timber sales.” Maine, also known as the Pine Tree State, has about 2.6 million acres of industrial forest.

Collins also wants to revive expired empowerment zone incentives. Aroostook County, in northern Maine, and the city of Lewiston were part of a select group designated by the Agriculture Department to benefit from a program that gave companies a tax credit worth up to $3,000 per employee. Collins’s state has also positioned itself well to capitalize on the tax incentives for renewable energy that she wants. The most prominent tax credit she wants to extend lets companies write off certain costs related to research and development. This measure was pushed very hard by business lobbyists last week after the bill by Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) fell apart.

“She honestly hasn’t made up her mind either way,” spokeswoman Liz Johnson said late Friday. “There is no change.”

Sen. Scott Brown

Brown isn’t publicly asking for any specific sweeteners — but he’s trying out a balancing act of being a loyal rookie Republican while acknowledging the liberal politics of his home state.

Brown had multiple conversations with Reid last week, and Reid told a Nevada talk show Friday night there was a “more than 50-50 chance” Brown would back his bill.